


One Wild Ride

by antigrav_vector



Series: Like trying to stop an avalanche [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Barebacking, Blow Jobs, Clothed Sex, Come play, Dirty Talk, Drunk Sex, Exhibitionism, Explicit Consent, F/F, F/M, Femslash, Fingering, For reasons, Het Sex, Kink Negotiation, Light Bondage, Light D/s, One Night Stands, Oral Sex, Other, Outdoor Sex, Poly Relationships, Polyamory Negotiations, Porn With Plot, Power Dynamics, Semi-Public Sex, Strap-Ons, Threesome, Threesome - F/F/M, Vaginal Sex, Voyeurism, Wall Sex, discussion of past traumas, far more plot than intended, impaired judgment, kind of, mild dubcon, misuse of neckties, sex on a boat, stetsons, tony in a cowboy hat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-10 18:53:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5596966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigrav_vector/pseuds/antigrav_vector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Right, so I thought I'd ring in the new year with a little something... explicit.</p><p>This boils down to boy meets girl, boy meets different girl, boy meets girl again. There was this long weekend in the Bahamas, and a hot blonde, and, well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to my beta [lil_1337](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337)

The night was still young, but there was about a 70% chance that he would throw up in the next ten minutes. Which, ugh. No thanks. He had better things to do with his time.

Forcing himself to straighten and wait for the world to stop spinning, Tony looked around with a smirk, bracing himself against a slightly sticky table with one hand and a hip when he wavered on his feet. This party was a lot more fun than he'd thought it would be. From the looks of the place, it was one of the richer establishments on the island, but even then it would have probably clocked in at the level of 'reasonably clean dive bar' by New York standards. It was small; one room with a high enough ceiling to keep the worst of the cigarette smoke overhead and keep the air at head height breathable. The bar was correspondingly small, but stocked with mid-shelf booze. None of the rotgut you'd expect to find in a New York dive bar.

Tony had decided to jet off for a long weekend in the Bahamas on a lark, having handed off three new sets of schematics. He'd figured that was deserving of a break. The R&D guys would have taken another six months to finish these, minimum.

Obie'd let him go on the condition that he get home bright and early on Monday for some meeting or other, but, really... Obie could deal with it. Tony didn't need to be there.

This was far better than any stuffy meeting. There was music, albeit not what he usually listened to, being a strange mix of pop and country with the inexplicable addition of some accordion solos; there was good booze that flowed freely; the narcotics of your choice were being passed around; there were plenty of willing bodies to fuck.

There would be none of that, if he followed Obie's orders. And Obie was better at handling the damn meetings anyway.

The bar was packed, meantime, as tended to be the case once he showed up. Everyone wanted a piece of him. Or his fortune. And even the chance to get one was enough to lure out the crowds. People generally weren't picky as long as there was alcohol flowing.

He'd mostly regained his balance, and was making his way back to the bar to arrange to lose it again, when someone stepped out of the crowd and right into his path. It was tough to tell who, in the dim lighting and the crush, but whoever it was, was stunning. Tony gaped. "Uh... hi?"

He took a few seconds to give her a once over. Fabulous rack, narrow waist, and hips to rival Marilyn Monroe's. All of it wrapped in a very tight little black dress, clearly calculated to hide precisely nothing, stilettoes that made her _almost_ as tall as he was, and topped with a very carefully coiffed set of bright bleach blonde curls. Not bad. When his eyes tracked back up to her face, she raised an eyebrow at him pointedly. "Care to dance, Mr. Stark?"

"Sure, why not," he agreed expansively, "dancing is great. Who doesn't love dancing?"

Rather than lead him out onto what passed for a dance floor, though, she linked her arm with his and pulled him in the direction of the bar.

And then past it, to the restrooms. Tony smirked. Oh. _That_ kind of dance.

He let himself be pushed through the restroom door and propped up against the far wall of the tiny room. He banged his elbow against the toilet stall door as he straightened up out of his slouch, distantly noticing that the music outside had changed and the bar was now enjoying the dulcet strains of Pat Benatar. It was a song that had been popular almost a decade ago, now, but-- His wandering attention was forcibly refocused when the blonde seemed to rematerialise in front of him out of thin air. There was barely enough room to stand next to the toilet stall.

"Now that we won't be interrupted," the blonde purred, pulling a hat off his head that he didn't remember owning and pushing it into his hands to twine her own hands through the curls at the nape of his neck, "how about that dance, cowboy?"

Cowboy?

Oh. The hat. Tony decided to roll with it, gesturing broadly with the hat as he replied. "You sure you wouldn't prefer a _ride_ , Miss...?"

"Hmm. Perhaps I would." The smile he got was somewhere between sweet and terrifying. "Call me Natalia." She ran her hands up his chest, starting at his waist and all the way up to his neck. Twining her fingers together at his nape, she stared into his eyes for a moment, then pulled back long enough to undo the buttons of his shirt.

Tony gave her a measuring look. "Preferences?"

Pulling a condom out of her clutch purse she tapped his nose with it. "You offered me a _ride_."

"Alright." Finding some reserve of balance and strength he'd thought he wasn't sober enough to have access to anymore, Tony wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in close. She went willingly enough, her hands dropping to the front of his slacks and deftly opening them.

Tony barely noticed until his pants fell to pool around his ankles. His underwear followed, and then Natalia was jerking him off with just enough force to get him properly hard. Tony couldn't help thrusting into her hand.

When she was satisfied, she slid the condom onto him and pushed him back against the wall behind him. "So, cowboy," she smirked at him, challenge in her eyes and voice as she pulled her dress up and out of the way just enough to give him access, then stepped into him and wrapped her leg around his hips without preamble, "mount up."

"First things first." He was a playboy, sure, and that reputation was deserved, but he made a point of making sure his partners enjoyed themselves. Testing the metaphorical waters, he slid two fingers down between her legs. When they came away slick with her juices, he rubbed his fingers together to spread the slick over them and pressed his fingertips into her.

That got a good reaction, and he snickered at her, amused. "More?"

"Quit playing around," she gritted out, bending just far enough to set her teeth in the muscle of his neck, somewhere between his nape and his ear, and bite down.

When he pushed his fingers in farther, she gasped and her head fell back against the toilet stall with a muted thump. "You know," he replied, shifting them so that he could put her back to the wall, "sex is a lot more fun if you take your time."

"Place and time," Natalia shot back. "This isn't either, Stark."

"Your loss," he shrugged and followed orders. Sliding his fingers free, he ran his hands up her legs and around, under her dress, to cup her ass, lifted her up a few inches and slowly settled her on his cock.

Natalia's hands came up to grip tightly at his upper arms, and his hands ended up back at her waist, carefully adjusting the angle so that her shoulders and upper back rested against the wall. The position left her back arched and made her muscles tighten around him deliciously as she urged him to move with the leg still wrapped around him. Her stiletto dug into the back of his leg and made him hiss. That was going to leave a nice scrape that would linger for days.

Rather than tempt her to do it again, Tony slid one hand down to support her lower back, and started moving. Pain play wasn't so much his thing.

With each stroke, Natalia demanded more, and Tony did what he could to give it to her. It was a little awkward in the close confines of the bathroom, but he managed to widen his stance just enough to thrust himself home at the angle she liked, and with the force she wanted.

It didn't take long for her to come, though it apparently caught her by surprise, judging by the sharp sound that escaped her. It caught him off guard, too, and pulled him over the edge after her. It took a lot of effort not to let himself slump down to let his head rest on her shoulder as they calmed. Carefully pulling out and disposing of the rubber, Tony caught her eye. "So?"

Natalia straightened her dress and patted her hair back into place with a satisfied look in her eyes. "Not a bad ride, stud." Gracefully bending to pick up the hat he'd lost track of in the proceedings, she stepped back up to Tony, dusting it off as she moved, and put it lightly back on his head. "Don't call me," she added, trailing one deceptively delicate looking finger down his sternum. "I'll call you."

Before Tony could gather his wits enough to reply, she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her.

Huh. Well, okay.

Straightening his own clothes, Tony glanced in the mirror before he left and smirked. That was a livid love bite high on his neck. Nice. Obie and the Board would disapprove, but it wasn't like they could kick him out when he was the one producing all the revolutionary new designs they loved so much. None of their pet R&D monkeys were worth a dime in comparison.

Satisfied that he was as presentable as he would get, he tipped the hat back and settled it a little more firmly on his head. With more than a hint of a smug swagger in his step, he walked back out to the bar and ordered another drink. That little romp had sobered him up far too much for this party.

\------

Thinking back on it late the next morning as he hid from Obie's wrath and the sun's blinding rays in the darkest corner of his private jet, he really wasn't quite sure how the night had gone after that. There were a few indistinct memories of a stunning crossdresser in a different back room, but for the life of him Tony couldn't remember whether they'd actually had sex or not. Somehow, he had ended up souveniring the hat.

Tony eyed it. It was a horrible shade of river mud brown, but he kinda liked the thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony couldn't help the groan as he forced himself out of bed. Well, tried to. It didn't quite work.

He'd slept an absurdly long time -- by his standards -- but prying his eyes open still took effort. He let his eyes fall closed again as his head dropped back onto his pillow with a muffled thump. "JARVIS?"

"Sir?"

"Time?"

"It is eight-oh-nine AM, Sir. The weather in Malibu is currently clear with scattered clouds and a predicted high of 79 degrees."

The smooth tones of his AI usually helped calm and center him, or wake him up, as the case might be. Not so much today. Tony threw his right arm over his face, shielding his eyes. "Schedule?"

"Nothing until one PM," JARVIS replied. "You have a meeting with Ms. Potts to discuss the upcoming Expo."

"I thought that was finally settled." Tony shifted his arm just enough to direct a mild glare at the camera embedded in the interface in the corner of the room.

Rather than show up for that meeting, Tony spent the time in his workshop. He needed to spend every minute there that he could, and Pepper wasn't going to know the reason why if he had any say in it.

The next week passed in a blur of alcohol, arguments, and assorted political power plays. The Expo opening, the Senate hearing, and his decision to donate his art collection being the 'highlights'.

Not that any of it mattered. None of it mattered except his decision to give Pepper the company.

When Pepper introduced him to Ms. Rushman, Tony couldn't help but stare. She looked vaguely familiar somehow. But that was impossible, so he dismissed the thought.

Then Fury had shown up a couple of days later to hand him a trunk of his father's old notes and more or less demand he figure out what was in them, and Ms. Rushman had been revealed to be SHIELD agent Romanov.

He wasn't too shocked to find out that she'd been spying for Fury. That Fury would have someone embedded in SI was almost inevitable. There were already agents from the CIA, FBI, Army, and Air Force, among others, known to him, Pepper, and JARVIS. But he was angry at himself for being too wrapped up in his own issues to notice Romanov. He'd been spiraling out of control, knowing that it was shortening the time he had left but unable to care enough to stop himself. The situation was more or less hopeless.

Sure, the fact that he was dying took precedence, but that was no excuse for letting a spy get close enough to him to potentially throw all of his careful plans into chaos and possibly even stage a take-over of SI, if she'd wanted to. Rushman had had the leverage. She just hadn't used it. Whatever she'd injected him with -- he really needed to look into the possible side-effects of lithium dioxide, if that was even what she'd used -- had helped enough that if she'd used it on him once and then dangled it in front of him like a carrot, it might even have worked.

If Rushman had demanded he sign over his fortune, he might even have done it. The chance that he could use the lithium dioxide to keep himself alive long enough to find a fix...

Tony wasn't sure what to do with that knowledge.

Now wasn't the time to worry about it, though. He had his dad's notes to analyse and a Russian mad scientist to take down.

It took a particle accelerator he built himself in his shop, a hurriedly redesigned and fabricated arc reactor casing, and several destroyed pieces of lab furniture, to actually do what his father's notes had claimed possible. It had been, just about, and now he had a new element powering, well, him. But that meant he had an Expo presentation to crash.

When the dust had settled, Justin Hammer had been arrested and held without bail, Vanko had gotten himself killed and SHIELD had made the body vanish, and he'd gotten together with Pepper.

It was, all things considered, a pretty good moment. Despite the Expo lying in ruins around them.

That was Vanko's fault.

Tony would have sued the asshole for the damage, if he hadn't gotten killed when his bullshit Hammertech suit overloaded.

\------

In the year since the events of Monaco and the Expo, Tony felt like things were finally going well for perhaps the first time since Afghanistan. The arc reactor in his chest was no longer poisoning him slowly, the company stock price was soaring, Stern was no longer trying to take control of Iron Man... Well, not actively. The senator's attempts to take the armour through Eminent Domain had tapered off after Tony had had his team of lawyers plug up all the holes in the delineation between his personal projects and SI's, and his ownership of his personal projects.

He'd established conclusively that the government would have to purchase the suit, and that he wasn't selling. It still left the question of how to keep them from reverse-engineering Rhodey's suit, but he could deal with that if and when it came up. He was fairly sure Rhodey knew not to let them, but if orders came down from on high, he wouldn't have a choice. Actually, he decided, maybe that needed to be his law team's next assignment. Figure out how to handle that scenario.

And he'd worked out how to integrate the larger arc reactor he'd been working on into Stark Tower. Clean energy was going to be SI's next Big Thing. The Board had reacted well to his pitch and Pepper's. Somewhat to both of their surprise.

With JARVIS' assistance, the permits and other assorted paperwork were submitted within two days of the Board's approval, and at the end of the week the materials started arriving. There were work crews mapping out the area of the building's subbasement where the reactor would be housed, working out which walls to take out and how. Tony had given them plans and detailed instructions, but he'd hired the best, and their foreman/lead engineer had insisted on going over the building plans himself to double and triple check everything. Even though everything Tony had proposed had been triple tested already in simulations run by JARVIS. They'd run every scenario they could think of, from flooding to catastrophic fire to minor meteor impact, and the proposed alterations to the Tower's structure had held.

There _were_ several points that had required some strategic reinforcement, but that was only to be expected when they were planning to take out so much of the concrete in the area.

But in the end, the foreman had signed off on the plans, and the crew was planning to start on Monday. It would take a week, but it would be done, and done right.

For similar reasons, Tony had decided he would be doing the sensitive parts of the build himself. The tech was still at a point where it counted as a working prototype, and there were any number of things that could go wrong if any details were overlooked during the assembly and testing stages.

And given the size of the reactor, an explosion could level several city blocks, even with the reinforced nature of the sub-basement it would be located in.

That night, he'd willingly shown up for dinner, albeit ten minutes late, surprising Pepper and Natasha, sitting side-by-side on the sofa in his penthouse. They'd clearly been talking quietly and intently about something. Pepper's head shot up when he entered, and she broke off halfway through her sentence.

"Tony?"

She sounded worried. He caught her eye as he replied. "Pepper."

"Did something happen?"

"What, I'm not allowed to join you for dinner anymore?"

Natasha snorted derisively and put in her two cents. "We all know that only happens when you run out of things to work on or blow up half the workshop."

"I haven't blown up the 'shop in weeks," Tony shot back. "And there's more than enough left to do downstairs."

Before he could turn and disappear again in a huff, though, Pepper was between him and the door. "Tony, no."

He wasn't quite sure how she managed to move so damned fast in those stilettoes of hers. "What, no?"

"No." Pepper's tone was firm, and Tony wanted to roll his eyes at her. He wasn't a dog. "You're going to sit down there, on the sofa, and eat something. We were just about to order in."

"And after we eat," Natasha added in her quiet calm voice, "there is something the three of us need to discuss."

Pepper followed him back over to the sofa and sat down next to him, close enough for their knees to brush against one another.

Of course, after that, he couldn't stop thinking about it, wondering what the hell they wanted to talk to him about. He was fairly sure he hadn't pissed either of them off yet that day. Which wasn't to say that he hadn't managed it anyway. He was good at somehow doing that, even when he was trying not to.

The circling thoughts wound him tighter and tighter where he sat, until Pepper rolled her eyes at him. "Ms. Romanov," she suggested, "it might be better to talk before we eat."

Natasha made a vaguely amused sound. "You might be right."

Tony eyed them both. "Talk about what?"

"Ms. Potts tells me that the two of you have discussed open relationship rules," Natasha said bluntly, "and that you need to be present for the remaining portion of the discussion."

What.

Pepper smiled sweetly at him, and he realised he'd said that out loud. "Ms. Romanov has hinted that she might be interested in making us an offer," Pepper replied.

Natasha nodded. "But that means having a conversation about hard and soft limits. Those can change if you're not one-on-one."

Tony couldn't really help but stare at her, wordlessly.

"Tony," Pepper prompted him.

Doing his best to shake off his surprise, Tony started talking. "Uh, right. Hard limits... touching the reactor, mostly. Most everything else is negotiable, but kink play is a no until we're comfortable. With each other and what we're doing."

Natasha nodded. "How do you feel about strap-ons?"

He stared at her for a long moment. "On whom?"

Shrugging carelessly and being mostly convincing about it, Natasha shot back, "either of us. Used on you."

Well. Okay then. That was pretty clear. And, for that matter, why had Tony never heard about this before? He and Pepper had been together for long enough that it ought to have come up at some point, and it hadn't. He made a note to discuss a few things with her later. It had been a while since he'd been fucked, and, well, this was an interesting development.

Hot as the mental image was, though, he forced himself to set it aside for the moment. They needed to finish this conversation. He might not have ever discussed limits in detail with his one-night stands, but that was because they were just that. A night of fairly vanilla fun and nothing more. This, though, had the feeling of something with a bit more weight to it. "I have to ask. Is this a one-off?"

"Do you want it to be," Pepper asked.

And _that_ was interesting. "You don't."

"I'm open to the possibility of a more permanent arrangement," Pepper replied carefully, "if all of us can agree on what form it would take, but for now perhaps we should play things by ear."

Natasha nodded. "That seems reasonable. Mr. Stark?"

That, oddly, triggered a feeling of déjà-vu, and Tony hesitated for a moment before he nodded, trying to work out where the half-memory had come from.

He gave it up with a shrug. "You know what, why not. But Pepper gets the strap-on."

The lengths to which he'd go for Pepper never stopped amazing him.

\------

Actually following through on their conversation was rendered more complicated by Natasha's sudden departure after they'd eaten.

Tony would have been tempted to hack SHIELD to find out what was up, had Pepper not all but hauled him into the shower by his shirt collar. Without quite knowing how it happened, he found himself half-sprawled on the cushioned bench, Pepper kneeling over him with her knees tucked almost into his armpits.

His hands went to her waist on autopilot before skimming downward over smooth skin until he had two handfuls of her ass. "Come here, Pep," he grinned at her, and urged her upwards with a squeeze of the muscle under his palms. He wanted to get more than just his hands on her. In fact, tasting her would be just the thing right now.

"Tony," she protested mildly, "this isn't quite what I had in mind."

"But it turns you on," he shot back, and let go just long enough to worm his arms between her legs, forcing her to shift her weight forward. Her feet ended up tucked under his shoulders as his hands slid up to the small of her back and then down again, lingering where they pleased. As she readjusted her position, he set his teeth in the skin of her inner thigh and bit down just enough to catch the skin, knowing even that light pressure would leave a lingering mark on Pepper's fair skin. "I can tell it turns you on. You want it, and I want you." He let one hand trail back down between her legs to tease at her opening, running his fingers back and forth through the slick warmth. "You're so wet, Pep," Tony smirked back up at her, "and you smell so good. I just want to lick you all over."

The flush on her skin was darkening, obviously not just from the hot water still hitting her back and dripping down onto his torso. A hand threaded into his hair, and Tony's smirk widened into a real smile. "Come here, Pep," he urged. "Come here, and I'll give you a proper warm up."

"A warm up?" She raised one delicate eyebrow at him.

"You mean you don't want more than just one, tonight? I guess I could cope," Tony teased her, using a single finger to dip inside her, only pushing in to the first knuckle.

"Tony," she started, squirming like she wanted to grind forward against him.

He cut off her words by pushing his finger farther in, rubbing at the silky smoothness inside. "Hmm?"

With a moan, her hips jerked. "Quit teasing and do it!"

"Your wish," Tony quipped, pulling his finger free and urging her closer as he spoke, "is my command." He used one hand to hold her open and set to work without preamble. He licked her once with the flat of his tongue, making sure he covered _all_ of his bases and getting another, harder, jerk of her hips in response, before settling in to give her clit some more attention, and sliding two of his fingers back in.

Under his focused assault, she didn't last long. They'd been together long enough that he'd found the sensitive points that drove her wild.

\------

It wasn't until ten days later that Natasha reappeared, looking as impeccable as always but favoring her left arm and refusing to say a word about where she'd gone. Her quiet calm hinted that she'd been successful, but that was about the only outward sign she chose to show.

She didn't stay long, either. She lingered in the Tower just long enough to announce her presence, and then she was gone again, presumably to report to Fury.

Tony wasn't sure if he was relieved or not that they still hadn't actually had the threesome they'd negotiated. He was busy enough with the arc reactor he was building not to have the time to pursue it. If he didn't finish the build on schedule and have the thing running in time for Pepper to get the publicity campaign running, he'd be in trouble, not only with her, but with the Board as well.

JARVIS broke into his thoughts, with his usual sense of timing. "Sir, the arc reactor's power output fluctuations are currently larger than will permit stable operation under ambient conditions. The insulation and connections to the building's power conduits will not hold under the strain."

"Noted." He set the issue of Natasha's disappearance aside. That could wait. Stabilising the arc reactor's power flows couldn't. By the time he was finished, five hours had gone by, and it was approximately 0230.

Any thoughts of trying to do anything about their nascent arrangements evaporated the next evening. Once he'd finally gotten the arc reactor stabilised, connected it to the building, and disconnected the building from the city's power grid, he'd intended to celebrate with Pepper in style. It would have been great; he'd even remembered not to bring strawberries this time. Things had played out contrary to his plans, though. He'd gotten back to the Tower and let JARVIS strip him of his armour, only to have Coulson force his way into the penthouse less than two minutes after he'd gotten it off.

Pepper had just rolled with the situation in that calm and ridiculously hot way she had. For his part, Tony had been pretty pissed until he'd opened the file Coulson had been toting along. And that… that was something else.

He bit back a sigh; this looked big.


	3. Chapter 3

Surveying his destroyed penthouse, Tony groaned. This would take a while to repair. It was low priority compared to the damage to other parts of Manhattan. Grand Central alone would be undergoing restoration for a year and a half.

The quiet ding of the elevator rang loudly in the silence, and drew his attention back to the state of his Tower. The superstructure was intact, and most of the damage was minor. He would have to get the building re-checked and re-certified by the city's civil engineers before he could allow his employees back inside, though.

The click of high heels sounded as someone approached, and he turned to see Pepper carefully picking her way across the half-shattered floor to reach him.

She silently stepped around to stand in front of him and pulled him close until they were plastered together from neck to knees. His bruises protested, and so did his concussion, but he didn't care. "Hey, Pep," he murmured, careful not to break the moment, "you okay?"

He got an incredulous look in response. "Me? Am I okay?!" She pulled back far enough to shake him by the shoulders once, gently, and her voice rose. "I'm not the one who fought aliens and then decided to fly a nuke through a portal on a suicide mission!"

Right. Clearly not okay.

Tony decided to distract her with plans for revamping the building. The more outrageous, the better the distraction. He started out by putting in new panoramic windows, a heated outdoor pool, and a floor for each of his new teammates, and made sure to escalate it from there. It didn't take long for Pepper to fall back into their usual bickering rhythm of conversation, and Tony was sure there was more than a hint of relief in her posture.

\------

After that, things settled into a holding pattern. Thor took his brother home to Asgard, and wasn't heard from again for quite a while. At least not by the world at large, Tony amended the thought. He and Pepper had pushed back the publicity campaign for the arc reactor, and focused on helping get the City back on its feet. Both of them spent a lot of time liaising with the government, FEMA, and the Mayor.

It didn't help matters that every politician and their mother was trying to call Tony out for his part in the fight, as though his participation had been the reason for the damage done, and not the reason why the city _hadn't gotten nuked_. It only took two interviews for him to get tired of reminding them. Unfortunately, after he stopped agreeing to interviews, the subpoena came, and he was forced into another trip to DC. This time Pepper stayed in New York; someone needed to keep an eye on the Board, after all. She sent Natasha with him, in her stead.

About two weeks after the Battle of New York, as the Press had unimaginatively dubbed it, Natasha moved into the Tower, and proceeded to spend most of her time playing PA for Pepper, with the occasional mission in between. The missions were far less frequent than they used to be, now that her face had been plastered all over the newsreels as a result of the Chitauri Invasion. He knew better than to ask about them, though. Even if hacking SHIELD's databases had yielded no useful information on what she was up to.

A month and a half later, Barton moved in, as well. Tony was still working on convincing Banner, and Cap had holed up somewhere in Brooklyn.

Three months after the Chitauri invasion, Banner finally gave in to Tony's persuasion, and moved his single suitcase of possessions into the Tower. To Tony's surprise, Cap followed suit a week later.

\------

It had taken almost six months, but things had finally settled enough in the aftermath of the Chitauri mess for Natasha to approach them again about their arrangement. Now that the sporadic missions had stopped, at least for the moment, and the reconstruction work on Midtown was starting to taper off, life at Stark Industries began to fall back into an approximation of a normal rhythm. That, in turn, meant Tony and Pepper started keeping what they defined as normal hours again.

He'd forgotten about their discussion entirely, and so when Natasha had made her move, Tony'd just blinked at her, confused, for several seconds. He'd more or less assumed after the first month that they'd collectively decided to ignore the fact that they'd even discussed a threesome, and yet here she was...

"Stark?" Natasha was eyeing him oddly.

"Tony," Pepper's hand landed on his shoulder, making him jerk, surprised, and firmly steered him toward the sofa. "Sit down."

Moving jolted him back out of his surprise, though he obeyed on autopilot. "Why now," he asked, knowing he probably sounded as baffled as he felt.

"Because I've decided to take a few months' leave from SHIELD to establish a few new covers, and to let the media forget about me." She smiled, but it had a dark edge to it that kept it from being saccharine sweet. "I wanted to know if the offer was still open."

Pepper nodded slowly. "I see. Tony?"

"Hm?" He was still caught up trying to work out what the edged smile meant.

"Are you still interested?"

He shook off the thoughts long enough to ask the pertinent question. "What's on offer?"

"First," Natasha replied, "a trip out of town for the three of us. You both have been here with your boots on the ground for the last six months straight. You need a break. We'll see how things develop from there, but I would like to revisit our initial discussion at some point."

"Alright," Pepper studied her as she considered the offer, "when?"

"Whenever you're free," Natasha said simply.

Tony tucked his nose into Pepper's collar. "Tomorrow?"

"Mmm, no," she replied. "You've got that meeting with the R&D department heads, and I have to try to browbeat the Board some more about the green energy initiative. Next week."

Natasha nodded, a hint of anticipation in her expression. "Tuesday?"

Pepper smiled. "Tuesday should work. I'll clear my calendar."

Natasha matched the expression. "Make sure you clear the rest of the week."

\------

The days passed oddly quickly. Tony found himself preoccupied with thoughts that revolved around the upcoming trip more often than not, but JARVIS distracted him with projects and suit upgrades. He suspected that was on Pepper's orders, but he didn't mind too much. She'd let him pick the destination, and since no one knew he had the house in the Bahamas -- not even Pepper -- he'd opted to go there. It would be a convenient way to escape the Press.

Tuesday afternoon, Natasha slid into the workshop holding a small duffel bag in each hand and settled on one of the worktables looking like a bird alighting on a branch. He didn't turn away from what he was doing until she spoke.

"Mr. Stark," she started, "Ms. Potts has arranged for your private jet to take us to Nassau, as you requested."

He turned to stare her down. "Okay, no. If we're going to do this, none of that Mr. Stark crap." She raised an eyebrow at him and her facial expression didn't change, but he knew he'd surprised her.

"Alright," she eventually replied, "Tony."

He nodded and went back to what he was doing. It took what felt like a few minutes for her to try again. Somehow, though, the silence wasn't all that tense. "We're expected at LaGuardia in an hour, Tony."

"Uh-huh," he agreed absently. He needed to find a way to rearrange the servos in the gauntlet to make space for the upgrade to his cutting lasers. Otherwise, he'd never be able to keep the weight down, and that was unacceptable. He didn't want to feel like he was lifting weights when he used his suit. He'd had enough of that in the short half hour it had taken to escape the Ten Rings' camp.

"JARVIS, save and exit, please," Natasha's voice rang out again, and his holographic display winked out.

"Hey! What the hell, J?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but per Ms. Potts' request Ms. Romanov temporarily has project override access."

Tony turned to his worktable in disgust, rummaging for his phone and tablet. "Whose bright idea was this anyway," he grumbled.

A delicate hand turned his head until he was forced to meet Natasha's eyes. "Tony, if you've changed your mind, you need to tell me now. Otherwise, we are leaving in ten minutes, and Ms. Potts will meet us at the jet."

Somehow, that made it real in a way it hadn't been until that moment, and all Tony could do was nod. He'd more or less forgiven her for the spy bullshit she'd pulled just before the Expo, but this was going several steps farther into actual trust, and he suddenly felt unsure. It wasn't a feeling he liked.

"Tony, I'm serious," Natasha prompted him.

He stalked over to the kitchenette and ran the water as a means to buy himself a moment to recover his equilibrium. "I know," he replied after a moment, drying his hands. Steeling himself a little, he grabbed one of the duffel bags and walked out of the workshop, knowing she would follow. "I'm driving."

She smirked. "Don't take the scenic route."

\------

When they arrived at LaGuardia eight and a half miles later, Tony was almost regretting his decision to drive. Almost. The highways through the city were pretty much perpetually choked with traffic during the daylight hours. It made trying to get to the airport an exercise in patience. The irritation of dealing with the other drivers on the road was only marginally better than his unease at letting someone else drive would have been.

And, sure, he'd known it would be a pain in the ass to make the drive, but goddamn. It seemed like everyone and their mother was intent on causing a traffic accident. He'd been cut off so abruptly that the guy behind him had nearly rear-ended him more than once.

At times like this he longed to be back in Malibu.

If nothing else, the roads were far more relaxing to drive. Here in New York he had to get outside the city limits and drive for at least half an hour to get out of the crush.

When he'd finally managed to get to the airport (with his car and passenger intact), he drove directly to the east end of the airport and back into the restricted area where the private and charter planes were parked, with their airstairs[1].

Pepper was already there, waiting in front of the learjet with Happy, when Tony pulled up and parked the car. He got out of the car and tossed the keys to Happy. "Hey, Hap," he greeted his friend, "do me a favor and make sure the car gets home?"

Happy nodded. "You got it."

Pepper stepped up to him as Natasha approached, a duffel bag in either hand, and subtly offered him her arm. "I'm shocked," she quipped. "You're almost on time."

He huffed, amused, took her arm, and led her to the airstairs. "Traffic," he replied, trying his damndest to keep a straight face. Pepper always could see right through him.

"And here, I thought maybe you wanted to see me," Pepper shot back, taking back her arm long enough to climb the stairs into the jet.

"JARVIS helped," Natasha put in as she followed.

"I'd thought so." Pepper gave him an arch look. "He usually does."

Tony was starting to rethink the whole threesome thing. Hot as it would be, he wasn't sure he wanted the two of them tag-teaming him like this all the time. He'd lose all the free time he carefully carved out of his schedule by ignoring unimportant appointments.

Pepper took one look at his face and laughed. She shoved lightly at his shoulder. "Sit down and stop worrying so much about things you can't control. I know that look."

Swallowing back what he wanted to say, Tony did as he was told, and let himself flop down into one of the seats placed in the open cabin of the plane. "Fine, but I'm getting a drink as soon as we're in the air."

As he finished speaking the cabin door thumped shut and he could hear the airstairs back away and drive off. They would be in the air soon, and thankfully the trip was short. In three hours, they'd be back on the ground.

\------

When they touched down in Nassau, a car was waiting for them and whisked them quickly away from the airport and to a small marina at the northern end of the island, near Old Fort Bay. From there they made the jump to a small privately owned island by boat.

The trip across the water was short, only requiring about half an hour, and Tony found himself smiling a little nostalgically, memories welling up, as they rode the slightly choppy seas. He hadn't been here personally for almost two decades, but it hadn't changed much outside the tourist-trap of a cruise port that was the island's main source of income.

Their destination was a very small reef island, reachable by boat or for a particularly strong swimmer, perhaps, or with the armour. It lay about twelve and a half miles to the northeast of Nassau Island, and was only just about large enough for a house designed by a billionaire. About a quarter mile long and half as wide, most of it was sandy beach. He'd designed and installed a water purification and desalination system that could be housed underground, specifically for this property, and added a waste treatment system in tandem. So there was fresh water, and indoor plumbing. Those were two things he didn't want to go without, no matter how rarely he used a residence. The internet connection was via the satellite network he'd designed, so connectivity wasn't a problem. It wasn't totally secure, but that wasn't possible, short of working without connecting to the network.

The rest of the house was done up in more or less the local style just… sleeker. There was a lot less glass than he usually favoured, though, in deference to the frequent hurricanes that blew through the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic Ocean. Similarly, he'd installed a system of sump pumps and reservoirs in case the house got flooded by a storm surge. The island itself was maybe a meter 'high', and that left the house with only a minimal buffer against the ocean. In the narrow strip of land around the house, there were enough palm trees and bushes to keep any kind of aircraft, except perhaps a quinjet or helicopter, from landing there. He hadn't bothered to put in a landing pad. After all, if he was using this place to lay low, odds were good that he'd be coming here in the armour, rather than his private jet. Renting a helicopter or a boat wouldn't work either, with the attention that would generate.

But, best of all, since no one knew he owned the place, they wouldn't be interrupted by nosy assholes with telephoto lenses. He'd bought the island after his last trip to the Bahamas, more or less on a whim, without telling anyone. It had stayed untouched for years after that. The house itself had been built only a few years ago, after his showdown with Obie had driven home the point that not everyone he trusted was actually in his corner. As such, it was still fairly modern, and more or less up to date. He personally didn't really care to change his furnishings every few years, so whatever he'd bought the first time around had simply stayed.

The purchase of the island and the construction of the house had been done through a series of shell companies, and the few people he kept on retainer to keep the place clean were hired through another shell corporation. He'd been very careful not to draw attention to this place; it was never a bad idea to have a quiet bolthole for emergencies.

Or, demonstrably, to get away from the press long enough to attempt a poly relationship.

His thoughts turned back to the present when Natasha stepped up to join him in his position at the railing of the small boat, turning her face into the wind. Her short red curls were flying around her face wildly, and were bound to be annoying to comb out later. She didn't seem to care in the moment, though, Tony noted, glancing at her sidelong. Her expression was one of fierce enjoyment. It reminded him a little of Thor, actually, and that was just a weird mental image. But Natasha as a Valkyrie? He could see it.

After a long moment spent staring out at the horizon, she broke her silence. "You know," she said, just loudly enough to make herself heard over the roar of the outboard motor and the hiss of the water, "I was sure you'd turn me down flat."

Tony had no idea what to say to that, so he just shrugged.

"I wanted to thank you for giving me another chance," she added, glancing back to where Pepper sat in the shade under the boat's awning, and it felt like a confession. "I know it wasn't an easy decision for you."

They reached their destination long before Tony could even begin to formulate any kind of coherent response. In the end, he didn't give her one, and she seemed to be okay with that.

The house was stocked with food and drink for at least a week. They wouldn't have to cook for themselves, either, if they didn't want to. The housekeeping team had offered them a cook, and Pepper had accepted on his behalf. Between him and Natasha, Tony was pretty confident that they could have come up with something edible, but not having to was nice.

They ate and spent the remainder of the evening letting New York and its worries be buried under the sound and smell of the island. It was jarring to suddenly hear nothing but surf and shorebirds after the noise and chaos of the City. Even as well insulated as he was in his Tower, Tony could feel it. Sure he could tune it out, but it definitely kept him wound a lot tighter than he usually was in Malibu. He was pretty sure Pepper felt the same way about it. Even the minimal ties they had brought with them in the form of tablets, phones, and Tony's remote connection to JARVIS through the armour were enough to keep an undercurrent of tension running through their conversations.

It took them a while, and several drinks, to put it out of their minds properly.

\------  
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airstair  
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081023010625AAWlTMZ  
"Airstairs is the common term for both aircraft mounted and portable ground equipment stairs. Some airstairs are truck mounted or self-powered. Some are are just pushed up to the aircraft by hand. Most all of them are hydraulically raised up and down to adjust for the different aircraft door heights.

Boarding ladder is also a term used for both 'stairs' and what actualy [sic] looks like a ladder. Personally, I believe that the term boarding ladder should be used for actual ladder-like devices, not the kind with steps."


	4. Chapter 4

Some three hours after their arrival and just after she'd insisted they watch a spectacular sunset on the second floor balcony, Pepper reopened a discussion Tony probably should have realised was coming.

"Tony?" she asked without lifting her head from its position on his shoulder, "do you have any changes or additions to our discussion from, God, six and a half months ago?"

He would have given her a look, but their position prevented that. Probably intentional. "You're assuming I remember it," he answered, tone dryly sarcastic.

Natasha jumped in. "Do we need to refresh your memory?"

"Birth control is not an issue; all of us are clean and consenting; we take some time to get used to each others' reactions and likes one-on-one first; no kink play until everyone's on board with the idea," he ticked the points off on his fingers. "Does that about cover it?"

In response, Pepper bit lightly at the junction of his neck and shoulder, sending a shiver through him. She didn't bother with words.

Natasha eyed him speculatively. "I think that hits all the important points," she said quietly. "So, do you want to play one-on-one tonight, or tomorrow?"

Pepper lifted her head at that. "Why not both? I haven't had Tony to myself for a while. You can have him tomorrow."

Tony huffed, not sure whether he was more amused or turned on by the idea. "What am I," he quipped, "your sex toy?"

"No," Natasha smirked at him as Pepper pulled him up out of the lounge chair by his shirt collar, a mixture of playfulness and threat in the expression. "Not yet."

She didn't follow them into the house, though, staying where she was. Before Pepper forcibly commanded his attention, Tony caught a glimpse of the last rays of sunlight catching in her red hair as she relaxed, stretched out on the lounge chair.

"Tony," Pepper prompted him as she started stripping his clothes off, "focus."

He caught her eyes briefly before his t-shirt disappeared, whisked over his head in a practiced motion by Pepper, leaving his hair a mess. The arc reactor lit the space between them blue and he reached for her to return the favor. "C'mere, Pep," he said as he reached out to start undoing the buttons of her blouse.

"What d'you have in mind," he prompted as he slid the shirt down over her shoulders. It fluttered down to the floor to puddle at her feet.

"How energetic are you feeling?" Pepper asked, giving him a measuring look.

Tony smirked; that sounded promising. "Pretty sure you've had a longer day than I have."

Once her arms were free, Pepper reached around to undo her bra and let that fall to the floor as well. "Maybe," she suggested, twisting coyly to show off her slender figure, her thumbs hooked into the waistband of her pants, "against the wall."

Tony stepped forward to pull her tightly against him for a moment and kiss her. "That can be arranged."

They lingered where they were for a long moment, enjoying the feeling of skin on skin, no sense of urgency driving them. Some indeterminate length of time later, they broke apart. Tony took the opportunity to strip off his jeans. They had been comfortable in the mild December weather, but he was definitely ready to be rid of them.

When he looked back up, Pepper stood in front of him in nothing but a pair of lacy black panties. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out and touching, sliding his hands up the outside of her legs until they snagged on her waist. "Nice. Special occasion?"

"Well," she shot back, reaching around him to hook her fingers in the lace, "I was hoping that I'd get to spend some time enjoying myself, and you, tonight."

He let go of her only just long enough for her to strip the panties off, and to get rid of his boxers. Pulling her back in close, he kissed his way up her neck to the hinge of her jaw, lingering there with his nose buried in her hair, and his lips against the delicate skin behind her ear. "I've missed you too, Pep."

The moment broke soon after that. Pepper twined her arms around his neck, and one hand buried itself in his hair, as she pulled him insistently towards the wall beside the pair of glass French doors overlooking the Caribbean. "Enough talking, more sex."

Muffling a laugh in the crook of her elbow, Tony gave in. "Alright, alright. Feeling a bit impatient tonight?"

Pepper rolled her eyes but said nothing, choosing to wrap her leg around his waist and start lining herself up.

Things between them were usually languid and slow, and Tony enjoyed that to the hilt, but clearly that wasn't what Pepper wanted right now. His hands went to her hips, steadying her and carefully sheathing himself to the sound of her pleased sigh.

The sheer heat of her hit him like a punch to the gut and he found himself curling forward around her without meaning to. She felt so damn good, too, that he couldn't stop himself from making a few short thrusts; he had to work to force himself still. "Good?"

"Be better if you started moving," Pepper shot back, voice pitched low and slightly breathless as she shifted impatiently. "Come on, Tony," she breathed and bit lightly at the lobe of his ear, "I need more."

It made his control waver for a moment. Pulling away just slightly so that he could brace her back against the wall and lift her up an inch or so off the floor, Tony caught her eyes. "More? More what?"

Pepper threaded one hand into his hair and wrapped her other leg around his waist, using the leverage to push him deeper, grinding against him and throwing her head back. "Just fuck me already, Tony, oh my god," she demanded, lust lacing her tone and somehow turning him on just that little bit more.

He felt a tug deep in his gut and Pepper bit her lip when she felt his reaction. Tony laughed, feeling the slight catch of his voice in his throat and gave her what she wanted. "What," he managed, "I thought you liked it when I did that."

"Tony," her heels dug into the small of his back and her fingernails left two sets of red lines over his shoulderblades, encouraging him to thrust deep, "shut up."

He couldn't help the low groan that seemed to boil up out of the pit of his stomach as he gave her what she wanted, words deserting him. He had enough presence of mind left to make sure he was hitting the angle she liked the best, but the way it made her buck and push back against him was almost enough to set him off early. The warmth and unpredictable way her muscles clenched down on him with each jolt of pleasure that went through her were quickly straining what control he still had.

Pepper's first orgasm caught them both off guard, and pulled a long cry out of her. It was only the jolt of pain that shot through him when her fingernails dug into his sides that let him hold back long enough to work her through it. It was only the promise of a much bigger payoff later that let him stave off his own climax. The effort left him panting for air and closing his eyes tightly.

When she came down, Pepper tightened her legs around him with a languid smile. "Not bad. One more?"

The lingering aftershocks of Pepper's orgasm were still shuddering through her. The feeling was just enough of a tease to be very distracting, so Tony caught her eyes and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips caught against his, ever so slightly chapped and still tasting vaguely of lipstick, and Tony took the initiative long enough to catch her lip between his teeth for a moment. "On the bed?"


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Tony woke with a start, bombarded with conflicting inputs. This was definitely not his bed, but the person wrapped around him was definitely Pepper. Memory slowly came back online, then, and Tony resisted the urge to run his hands through his hair. Not before breakfast. Or coffee, at least.

It wasn't long before Pepper roused as well, stretching without bothering to untangle their legs. It bent his knees at strange angles, but there was little force behind the movement. "Mmm," Pepper hummed, a contented note in her voice, "morning."

Tony huffed at her, rolling his eyes. "Morning. Coffee?"

Pepper nodded without lifting her head, which resulted in her rubbing her nose against his shoulder. "Shower first."

It took a few minutes for Tony to convince himself to get out of the bed, and it didn't seem like Pepper was any more inclined to move.

Eventually, though, there was a polite tap at their door, and Natasha called out to them. "I know you're awake. Come eat something. You'll need it."

That... sounded somewhere between promising and ominous.

\------

After a far more solid breakfast than he was used to eating, Tony stepped outside into the cool morning sunlight and stretched out on one of the lounge chairs. Natasha was right behind him, and settled onto the lounge beside his.

"Tony," she prompted, "you have a choice: either the two of us can experiment, or I will ask Pepper whether she wants to."

Pepper, standing in the doorway of the house, put in, "interest isn't the issue, actually. It depends on what you want to try."

Natasha smiled, a dangerous edge to the expression. "How good are you with a strap-on?"

Tony blinked. "Hot."

Pepper ignored him. "It's been a while since I've used one on someone else, but I'm fairly sure I remember how."

Natasha took the two steps over to her, and looked Pepper dead in the eye. "Would you like to?"

"Hmm," Pepper pretended to consider. "Would you?"

"I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't," Natasha retorted.

Tony decided it was time he put in his two cents. "Can I watch?" Natasha turned her attention to him, and Tony shrugged. "What?"

"This is meant to be one-on-one play. Think you could keep your hands to yourself if you did?" Natasha asked.

Pepper laughed outright in response. "He couldn't even keep his hands off _himself_ last time."

Natasha nodded decisively. "You can watch, but we're tying your hands to the chair."

That was pushing the limits on their agreement not to do kink play, but then, so was the voyeurism he'd suggested. Tony hesitated for a long moment before he answered. "Long as I can get out if I need to."

Pepper was watching him with a considering expression, and Tony was pretty sure he knew why. They hadn't done this often since they'd gotten together. And that was mainly because he'd still been recovering from his captivity in Afghanistan, at the time. Still was, really, in some ways. He'd always enjoyed it before, but after he'd gotten back home to the states it had taken him months to be able to even attempt it without having flashbacks or coming close to panicking. Not that he'd been restrained much by Yinsen or the Rings, but somehow it had gotten linked together in his subconscious anyway. Something about the way he couldn't get out of his captors' clutches had mixed with the way he couldn't get out of most restraints and engendered a fear that he couldn't seem to shake, no matter how many times he told himself it was irrational.

He and Pepper had only tried any kind of restraints a few times in the years since, and not recently. His willingness to try, now of all times and with a relative stranger in the mix, was doubtless what was causing Pepper's surprise. She knew he still didn't trust Natasha fully, and, more importantly, she knew _why_. On reflection, Tony decided that it was probably the fact that neither of them would be touching him that made it better, somehow.

Natasha wouldn't have known any of that beyond the minor trust issues, though, and it showed in the way she nodded slowly. She could tell she'd tripped over something, but not what. "That can be arranged," she replied evenly. "All we want is to keep your hands where they are while we experiment."

Tony shrugged. He had nothing more to say, really, and didn't, despite the way it meant that the silence stretched for an awkward moment on the heels of Natasha's statement.

"Did you being a strap-on," Pepper wanted to know. It broke the tension immediately.

Natasha smirked at her, wickedly. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Pepper laughed. "Seriously."

"I'd say the better question is: do you prefer to give or receive," Natasha shot back.

Pepper visibly sized Natasha up, and Tony couldn't help getting turned on by that little bit of assertive body language. "Does the answer to that question change anything?"

"No." Natasha leaned back to show off the curves of her figure and her trim waist, and Tony could tell that Pepper was enjoying the sight almost as much as he was.

For his part, when it came to attraction, gender didn't matter -- straight, gay, trans, fluid, who gave a fuck -- and Pepper had known that about him long before they'd even thought about getting together. He'd known she was bi for a long time, too; she'd come out to him near the beginning of their relationship, only just before they'd discussed relationship rules. Seeing it happen was another thing entirely, though.

After a long moment, Pepper finally responded. "I like both sides of that equation, but I prefer to give, usually."

Yeah, Tony knew about that in intimate detail, meantime. He couldn't hold back the smirk that tugged at his lips at the thought. Might be worth instigating another kink night, he decided.

Natasha was nodding. "I agree. Perhaps we'll switch off, then?"

Pepper smiled. "Perhaps. I could be persuaded, given the correct incentive."

A quick flash of humour flitted across Natasha's features. "What did you have in mind, Ms. Potts?"

"I'd like my assistant back," Pepper replied, "on a more permanent basis."

Tony could see the surprise that comment caused, and had to agree with the sentiment. That was not what he'd expected to hear, either.

"I'll talk to Coulson," Natasha pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed out a few words before putting it back. "Now. Where were we?"

"You were going to tell me whether you actually brought a strap-on or were planning to just tease me with the idea," Pepper retorted.

"Shall we take this inside?"

\------

Unsurprisingly, they ended up in Tony's brightly lit bedroom. It faced the opposite shore of the tiny island from the patio and small pool, and was a floor higher up.

Natasha had disappeared into her guestroom for a moment before re-emerging with the promised strap-on and a handful of other supplies. Pepper had left her to it, preferring to take the opportunity to get Tony settled.

She pulled two neckties he didn't remember owning out of a dresser drawer, and sat him down in a chair scavenged from the bedroom's balcony. "You're sure about this, Tony?"

He shrugged. "Won't know if I can still do it unless I try. Long as I can get out if I need to, it should be fine."

"Then sit." Pepper pointed imperiously at the well-padded chair.

Settling himself comfortably, Tony watched her as she approached. She looped the first tie around his left arm, pulling it down to settle around the broadest part of his hand. It left his thumb free and the other four fingers of his hand pinned lightly to the armrest of the chair. Pepper stepped back and watched him closely. Tony nodded. "That should work."

"Alright," Pepper conceded, glancing at the door as Natasha entered, "tell me if it starts to bother you or you want me to take them off."

Tony reached out to take her hand and pull her close for a kiss, aware of Natasha's eyes on them. It made his skin prickle just a little. When he pulled back, breaking the kiss, Pepper took his hand in hers and guided it down to the armrest without breaking eye contact.

Tony could tell that the knots she'd used were easy to slip, and the way Pepper had placed the ties was intended to be nothing more than a reminder. It wasn't a restriction, just a strong suggestion, and that made all the difference in the world. He turned to look at Natasha and raise an eyebrow at her. "Ms. Rushman?"

She gave him a long level look. "Mr. Stark?"

Pepper rolled her eyes and stepped over to Natasha, her hands coming up to slowly undo the column of tiny pearl buttons holding Natasha's blouse closed, one by one. There was something about the bright morning sunlight that made the scene somehow simultaneously more carnal and more innocent. It was a weird contrast. "Tell me something, Natasha," she asked, voice low and tone suggestive, "would you rather I make you wait for it, or go for more than one?"

Natasha considered that for a moment that seemed to stretch, and Tony found himself wishing he had thought to undo the fly of his pants. They were getting a little constricting.

"For now, I'm going to say I'd like to see you try for more than one. Let's save the edging for when we're more used to each other."

"Fair enough," Pepper agreed, sliding the blouse back over Natasha's shoulders and down her arms. It caught on her hands and Pepper helped her free herself before moving to remove her own clothes.

"I just want to say," Tony put in, "that this is one of the hottest things I've seen in years, and you haven't even started yet."

Natasha huffed, amused. "Just as well you're tied down, then, or you wouldn't last long enough for the main event."

"Rude." Tony tried to draw himself up, stung, but hissed and squirmed when that rubbed his pants hard against his dick. The feeling fell somewhere between spine meltingly good and painful.

Pepper ignored the byplay, stepping out of her shorts and tossing them over the back of a chair to join her blouse. It left her in a lacy pale pink bra and matching thong. When Natasha picked up the strap-on and stepped up to her, Pepper caught her eyes. "Help me put it on?"

Tony wasn't sure what fell out of his mouth when Natasha simply did as asked, gracefully settling on her knees in front of Pepper and sliding her hands up Pepper's thighs. "First things first. These are coming off so that they don't get ruined," Natasha replied, hooking her hands into the panties, which slid easily down over Pepper's hips and fell to the floor.

"There," Natasha looked quite pleased with the view she had. Sitting back on her heels and slotting the strap-on into its harness, she looked up at Pepper. "Lift your left foot?"

Bracing one hand on Natasha's shoulder, she did, though Tony could see she was putting no pressure on Natasha at all. Natasha slipped the harness over her foot, and held it a few inches off the floor. "Okay," she instructed, "now the other one."

When Pepper was standing balanced again, Natasha rose back up onto her knees, sliding the strap-on and harness up Pepper's legs and settled it in place against her skin. "Hold it there, please?"

Pepper's hand came down to wrap around the base of the dildo, and Tony couldn't hold back the groan that image pulled out of him. The sound got a smug smirk out of Pepper as she watched Natasha tighten the harness to fit snugly.

Once it was in place, Pepper pivoted on the balls of her feet and went up onto her toes in a stretch that made her slender figure look amazing. Natasha sure looked like she appreciated it, and that was hot as hell.

Satisfied that the strap-on was secure and also not restricting her movement, Pepper turned back to Natasha and cocked her hips. Tony's hands twitched in their ties, and he shifted, hoping to take some of the pressure off his cock. Goddamn, he was hard and they hadn't even fully undressed yet. Natasha was still in her underthings, and Pepper was still wearing her bra.

Pepper's voice jarred him back out of his little reverie. "Condom and lube or bare?"

Natasha stood and swayed over. "Condom makes it far easier to clean."

"Did you bring one?"

Natasha smirked and pulled a foil packet out of... somewhere. Tony couldn't see where.

Pepper nodded approvingly. "Good. Shall we move this to the bed, then?"

Without a word, Natasha took the two steps over to the bed, shedding her panties as she walked before she was laying herself out on her back on the covers. Tony was convinced that there was magic involved. There had to be for her to be able to pull that off without tripping over her underwear when it hit her ankles. The condom packet was still in her hand. He only noticed belatedly that Natasha trimmed, rather than shaving. The neatly shaped thatch of dark red curls was an almost startling contrast against her pale skin.

Pepper followed, almost as graceful, and settled between Natasha's knees. "Put it on me?"

Natasha's eyes seemed to smoulder, and her hands moved very slowly and deliberately to obey. Tony could see that Pepper definitely enjoyed that. He did too. Jesus. The fucking Black Widow was putting a condom on his girlfriend and he was being allowed to watch without fearing for life or limb. Natasha caught his eyes over Pepper's shoulder and gave him a knowing look as her hands moved over the strap-on, caressing it as she slid the condom onto it. "I have plans for you, too, Mr. Stark," she purred, a hint of smug satisfaction tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Later."

Tony felt the goosebumps rise on his arms, and it sent a shiver through him. Somehow the knowledge that his hands were tied made the sensation more intense.

Once the rubber was in place, Pepper sat back and gave Natasha a long slow once-over before she reached for Natasha's knees and pulled gently. Natasha followed the silent cue, sliding down the bed away from the headboard and letting herself be positioned on her back.

"Is this okay," Pepper asked, sliding her hands up the inside of Natasha's thighs.

"If you don't get your fingers in me soon, I'm going to do it myself," came the retort, and Tony couldn't help snickering.

Pepper pulled back for a moment to shed her bra, then was running two fingers teasingly over the sensitive skin between Natasha's legs. Tony could tell she was using barely any force at all, only giving the barest hint of touch as a sign that she was doing anything at all. She liked to tease him like that sometimes when she was giving blowjobs.

"You're almost dripping," Pepper commented, sounding pleased, and Tony tried to move his hands without thinking. When the ties brought him up short it felt like the room suddenly got a few degrees warmer. "How many fingers do you want?"

"Start with two," Natasha requested, ever so slightly strained. "Give me three before you use the toy."

With no further preamble, Pepper did as requested. The two fingers she pushed in to the second knuckle had Natasha's back arching, and Pepper chuckled lowly. "Mmm, yes, just like that. Bear down on my fingers," she encouraged. "You feel good."

Jesus. Tony's hands clenched around the armrests of his chair as he came to the conclusion that he was going to spontaneously combust before the night was over, at this rate. He forced his hands to unclench. "Damn, Pep," he asked, hearing the hoarseness in his own voice, "where the hell did you pick this up?"

"College," she answered. After a moment, Pepper started thrusting her fingers in and out, slowly, continuing to murmur compliments. When she added the third finger, Natasha moaned and her hands clenched around handfuls of the bedspread tightly enough that Tony could see the muscles in her arms cording. "You're good at this," she gritted out, and Pepper preened a little.

"It's not something you forget easily," she replied, "and you're pretty inspiring."

With a deliberate motion, Pepper leaned back to sit on her feet again. The change in position made it easier for her to push her fingers deeper, and after a moment, it pulled another long wavering sound out of Natasha as she came. Pepper bit her lip, watching Natasha's whole body go tense, and only pulled her fingers out gently when Natasha relaxed again. "Good?" she asked.

Reaching for words and not finding them, Natasha simply nodded. Lying limply on the bed, and trying to calm her breathing, she watched Pepper reach for the lube she and Tony kept in the small nightstand beside the bed in all of their residences for purely practical reasons. When Pepper started slicking up the strap-on, Tony found he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her delicate fingers. He wanted to say something, anything, about it, but the words had deserted him.

Pepper took her time, using the opportunity to let Natasha recover slightly and to show off the way the strap-on looked against her skin. Tony had to approve of the tactic; he was enjoying the view, himself. Only when she was sure every square millimeter had been lubed did she look away from the strap-on and back up to meet Natasha's eyes.

The question went unasked, but Natasha answered. "Do it."

Reaching down to steady the strap-on, Pepper lined herself up, and slowly pushed in. It pulled a beautifully melodic moan out of Natasha, whose toes pointed for a beat before she wrapped her legs around Pepper's waist, encouraging her to move. "Come on, Pepper, I'm ready," she pleaded, her heels digging into the small of Pepper's back, just above her ass.

Pepper's hands went to Natasha's hips as she started moving. Her motions were slow and gentle, at first, but Natasha wanted far more than that, and didn't hesitate to demand it. "More," she said, using the leverage she had to push Pepper into thrusting deeper and harder. " _More_."

Tony could see the moment when Pepper gave in and followed Natasha's lead, using her hands to help angle Natasha's hips and putting more force into her movements. All of his skin felt oversensitised, and it took more effort than expected not to try to rub off against the rough fabric of his pants.

It didn't help that when Pepper found the right angle, Natasha started all but writhing in her arms. It didn't take long after that for Natasha to come again, this time with an almost surprised 'oh', as though she really hadn't expected a second orgasm, even after all that. Her hands fell to fist in the covers again as Pepper kept moving, wringing aftershocks out of her, along with a drawn out hitching sob.

Tony's breath caught in his throat at the sight, and it only got better. Once Natasha had calmed slightly, Pepper reached down to hold the base of the strap-on as she pulled out. Natasha's hips twitched upward as though to follow it, before she let herself fall bonelessly back onto the bed. "Damn," she swore. "You _are_ good."

Wearing her smugness like a mantle, Pepper stood and stalked over toward Tony, the strap-on bobbing as she walked. It was almost hypnotic.

His mouth watered at the sight, and he swallowed, trying to keep himself in check. This had a lot of potential to be awesome. She smelled like herself and Natasha, and that was hot as hell. "Pep?"

"Tony," she purred, "you've been so good."

His fingers twitched, and he nodded, anticipation building in the pit of his stomach alongside the arousal.

"Do you want to taste Natasha?" Pepper asked him.

"Fuck, yes." Tony shifted his weight and started to pull free of the ties.

Natasha was watching from the bed, caught between languid satisfaction and interest. It distracted him just enough that he was surprised when Pepper's hands were suddenly on his shoulders, bringing the flushed skin of her collarbones almost in range to be licked and kissed. "No. Stay there," she commanded. "I know you would both enjoy a little oral with the way Natasha's about to drip all over the bed, but I have something else in mind."

And Tony was starting to have an idea of what that was. Fuck. He hadn't thought he could get more turned on.

Pepper's hand threaded into his hair and she applied just enough pressure to tilt his head back a little. "Leave your hands where they are, Tony," she requested firmly, "and clean me up. With your tongue."

Tony felt his eyes close involuntarily, and took a few deep breaths. He opened them again when he felt the strap-on nudge against his lips, the smell and taste of it sending him reeling. They hadn't tried this before, though they'd talked about it. The hand in his hair tightened just slightly, and he tried to duck his head to lick at the base.

Tried. Pepper held him back, more cautious than he was, and he took a hitching breath. "Pep," he managed, "want to--"

"No, Tony," Pepper's other hand came up to cup his face, "I want you to take every inch. Do you want that, too?"

"God, Pepper," Tony heard his own breath coming harshly, but it was distant. What mattered right now was sucking Pepper's dick. "Fuck."

"Yes or no, Tony," she insisted.

"Yes! Oh my god, come here." Tony tried to take the head of the strap-on in his mouth, but Pepper made him stop for just a moment before she allowed it, reminding him not to rush things.

Perversely, that only made him want it more, but he let Pepper control the pace. It was nothing like a flesh and blood dick, despite being high quality, and that was always slightly disappointing. But the taste... seeing Pepper and tasting Natasha was one of the more amazing contrasts he'd experienced in a long time, and this way he got to please both of them at the same time with one act.

Almost excruciatingly slowly, Pepper slid the strap-on deeper into his mouth, only pausing when it hit the back of his throat. Tony flinched slightly, and shifted to position himself better. She only continued once she was sure Tony was ready. Normally they used physical movements like changes in his grip on her thighs as signals when he couldn't talk, so she was being extra cautious since his hands were tied.

Pepper let him decide when to push for more, her hand in his hair steadying him and keeping him grounded. He took a deep breath through his nose first, and relaxed his throat before he tried. This was something he'd practiced enough to more or less burn out his gag reflex, and it was in moments like this that he was happiest that that was the case. When he'd settled it in his throat, he swallowed around it twice, enjoying the sensation. It took what seemed like a long time, but Pepper started to pull back almost immediately, not letting their little experiment cross the line into breathplay.

Pepper only made him take it two more times, before she was pulling back, forcing him to let the strap-on fall from his mouth, and undoing the buckles that held it in place.

"Pep?" Tony could tell his voice was wrecked in the best possible way. "What--"

She stopped him with a deep kiss, her hands going to the fly of his pants. She had his dick out almost before he could process it, and was holding him steady with one hand. "I want your hands on me, Tony."

It took him a couple of attempts to pull free of the ties, his movements clumsy, but then his hands were on bare skin and Pepper was sliding down to sheath him, and everything dissolved into heat and movement. He only barely managed to hold back long enough to make Pepper come first, and her near-shout of bliss was ultimately what did him in. It yanked at something deep in the pit of his stomach, and made him unravel at all the seams.


	6. Chapter 6

The sound of Pepper's ringtone woke them all early the next morning. Tony tried to sit up and discovered that he was pinned to the bed by two sets of limbs, and that, more than anything, was what brought everything rushing back. With a protesting groan, Pepper rolled over to grope at the chair for her shorts.

She eventually found them, but not before the call went to voicemail.

While Pepper blinked blearily at her phone, navigating through the menus to play back the message, Natasha slid out from under the covers on his other side. She gathered her clothes and walked out of the room without a word, not bothering to put them on. Under a minute later, he could hear the shower in the guest bathroom running.

Tony watched Pepper as she listened, her expression getting more awake and more disgusted with every passing second.

When the message had finished playing, Pepper dropped the phone onto the nightstand with a clatter. "It's too early for that kind of stupidity."

Tony huffed, amused, but far from alert. He wound his arms around her waist and pushed the hem of the worn t-shirt she was wearing out of the way with his nose. It was one of his, he noted idly, as he luxuriated in having her around to cuddle with so leisurely. "What stupidity," he eventually asked.

Pepper's fingers combed through his hair, the sensation almost enough to send him back to sleep. "The Board is having a fit over something to do with the arc reactor PR campaign. I have no idea what; that message was vague to the point of being useless," she grumbled. With a resigned sigh, she trailed her fingertips down the back of his neck and to his shoulder blades, as though determined to enjoy the next few minutes. "As CEO, I should be there."

"Coffee first," Tony replied.

Pepper laughed at him, but agreed. "Yes, coffee first. And breakfast."

\------

Under two hours later, the jet's pilot had been alerted and Pepper was en route to the airport. She could be flying back to LaGuardia, and then the pilot would come back to wait for Tony and Natasha.

Tony himself had had no say in the decision, but on the whole, he was more or less alright with the plan, so he didn't make too much of a fuss. Watching the small boat speed across the waves toward Nassau island, though, he wasn't sure how he felt about having Pepper yanked away from him like that. He'd made her CEO, and this was part and parcel of the gig. He'd lost count quickly of how many times something similar had happened to him.

Granted, he'd started ignoring the Board's stupidity after a while, to their consternation and Pepper's. But they worried about the most idiotic little details. Oh, but Mr. Stark, what about the budget for conference booths? Mr. Stark, the stock dividends this quarter are going to be lower and it might scare off investors. Mr. Stark, your association with the Avengers will damage our image. Mr. Stark, the tabloids are claiming that your philanthropic outreach programs are covering up the existence of multiple illegitimate children and at least one brain-sucking alien.

As though any of that mattered long-term.

And now Pepper was getting sucked into that black hole because he'd placed her on the event horizon.

Natasha stepped up beside him. "Penny for your thoughts."

Tony snorted, not looking away from the point where turquoise sea met paler blue sky. "Not sure they're worth that much."

"Pepper will be just fine," Natasha caught his eyes, her expression serious. "She'll make an excellent CEO, and not much will change in your relationship."

She'd hit the nail on the head as usual. Not that Tony was about to admit it. "You can't know that. And anyway, adding you in changes our relationship massively, assuming it all works out long-term."

Natasha acknowledged the truth of that with a shrug. "Want to go swimming?"

Tony contemplated the question. He'd gotten better with large bodies of water again, and recently taken advantage of the fact to break the power conduits connecting the Tower to the city's power grid, which were somewhat inconveniently located buried under the Hudson River. It was only the middle sized ones that bothered him anymore, really. Pools and jacuzzis were still out of the question. Shaking the thoughts off, he asked, "where?"

"I've read that Spanish Wells is a nice reef to snorkel."

Tony eyed her. "That'll mean either a dive skin for you or a hell of a lot of sunscreen, even this late in the season."

"Entirely beside the point."

He shrugged. "Why not. It's been a while since I've done anything like that."

Natasha nodded and pushed off the balcony railing. "Meet me at the docks in ten minutes."

"Did you even bring a swimsuit?"

Natasha threw a smirk over her shoulder as she left the room. "No."

Well, then.

Briefly, Tony entertained the notion of skinny dipping. But, no, Natasha would burn almost immediately with her pale skin. Shaking his head, Tony dug through the dresser in his bedroom. He was fairly sure he'd seen a swimsuit of some kind in the back of one of the drawers, and now was the time to find out if he was right.

Five minutes later, he'd come up with a pair of wildly colored neon board shorts that looked like the 80s had thrown up on them, and a skimpy black speedo that would only just cover the important bits, and was debating which one he preferred.

"Tony?" Natasha looked in. "Oh, perfect. Give me that." She plucked the speedo neatly out of his hands, making the decision for him, and sauntered back out, an obviously intentional sway in her hips that he couldn't tear his eyes away from. "You coming?"

He could only stare after her for a long moment, not sure whether he was more confused or turned on by the concept of Natasha wearing a speedo intended for him. After a few stunned seconds, he managed to get himself moving, and followed her out of the room. She was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, speedo nowhere to be seen, in a slightly oversized t-shirt and a pair of cut offs.

"What are you waiting for," he prompted as he walked past her to grab a keyring off the rack on the wall. "The boat should be back by now."

"You," she shot back, picking up a Stetson off the waist-high table behind her and putting it on. Tony recognised it with a start, and no small amount of déjà-vu.

"Wait wait wait," he exclaimed. "How did you get that? I left that back in the 'shop."

All he got in reply was a very smug head tilt and a smile. "Let's go."

Luckily, he found sunscreen stashed away on the boat, alongside the water cooler.

\------

Having spent a very enjoyable two hours in the water, they pulled themselves back onto the moored boat. Tony made a beeline for the cooler of fresh water, then turned back to admire Natasha. She was a sight with her t-shirt plastered to her curves and the tiny speedo only barely covering the important areas as she lounged in the sun on the deck on a towel.

A knowing smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she stretched, showing off all of her curves. "See something you like?"

Tony turned back to the cooler to get some more water and sauntered over to settle next to her before he replied. "And if I do?"

"Why aren't you doing anything about it," she challenged.

"Didn't bring any supplies," Tony leaned down over her, and offered her a smirk. "Care to come back to my place?"

Natasha reached up to wrap one hand around his neck and the other around his shoulder, then pull him down until he was almost sprawled on top of her. When they were nose-to-nose, she replied, "Maybe you didn't, but I did. Hand me my shorts."

Raising an eyebrow at her, Tony did as she asked. Natasha fished a condom and packet of lube out of one pocket, and mirrored the expression. "Yes?"

"Exhibitionistic much?" Tony quipped, pleased. "This seems like a lot of effort to put in just to have a go on my boat."

Without a word, Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist and flipped them so that she was sitting on his thighs and staring down at him. "You of all people should know that the chase is half the fun."

"Yeah, okay. That's true," Tony squirmed. Something was digging into the small of his back. When he went to try to find whatever it was and remove it, Natasha's hands shot out and suddenly his wrists were pinned to the deck next to his ears.

"Now," Natasha's tone was pointed. "Yes? Or no?"

"Yes," Tony gave in and answered the question; he could see that she wasn't going to let it go. Clearly she'd been talking to Pepper about his quirks.

"Good." Natasha let go of his right hand and produced the Stetson from somewhere behind her. She settled it on her head again, and continued. "I want your fingers in me. Then, after you've gotten me warmed up properly, I intend to ride you until you can't hold back anymore."

Tony waited a beat, but she made no move to take the speedo off. With a mental shrug, he set his hand at her knee and slid it slowly higher. "How many do you want?"

"Two, but first I have a challenge for you," she replied.

Tony was intrigued. "Yeah? What's that?"

"Get me off without taking off the speedo."

That was. Tony blinked. "You sure?"

"Can't do it?" Natasha's expression was half amusement and half expectation.

She thought he would beg off, he realised. Tony laughed and used the hand he had on her skin to urge her to shift her weight. Obliging him, she went up onto her knees, but didn't let go of his other wrist. Tony settled himself more comfortably. He'd be able to focus much better now that he didn't have anything digging dents into his back. "Alright," he nodded, "come here."

That request prompted Natasha to lay herself out on top of him, plastering them together from knees to stomach as she propped herself up on her elbows. "Come on, Stark," she reiterated, her nose inches from his. "Show me what you've got, cowboy."

A flash of a memory almost distracted him from the task at hand. He set it aside, and went back to what he was doing. "You know, this would be better for you if my other hand was free," Tony said conversationally, as he let his fingers trail lightly along the edge of the speedo, where it lay against the skin of her upper thigh. This scenario was turning him on, and he was sure Natasha could tell. "Then I could do this properly."

Her hips twitched, and she rubbed herself against him just the slightest bit. The move got him just that little bit harder, and she smirked at him, challengingly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Then I could use one to tease your clit through the speedo you seem to like so much," Tony suited actions to words, "and the other to hold you open while I lick you around the edges of it."

Natasha's hand tightened around his wrist at the touch, and she took a sharp breath. "Go on," she prompted, "tell me more."

Tony smirked back at her, gratified that his words were having this much of an effect. He let his hand drift down away from her clit to toy with her folds through the thin barrier of nylon and spandex. She was wet, and not just as a result of their swim. "Pretty sure you've heard this from Pepper already," he continued, "but I love giving head. Seeing someone writhing on the bed, losing control because of what you're doing with your tongue, is one hell of a turn on."

He pushed one finger in just far enough to tease at her opening with the speedo still between them.

Natasha's hips jerked this time, wanting. "Yes," she managed to reply, "Pepper did mention that."

"Good," Tony pulled his hand away, ignoring Natasha's plaintive protest, and brought it to his face. "Hmm, you smell good," he commented, before licking at the tip of his finger. He came away with the taste of ocean brine mixed with something purely female, musky and hot. "Taste good, too."

"I thought you were going to finger me," she demanded, grinding insistently down against him. It sent a shock of bright pleasure up his spine, and left him breathless for a moment.

"Yeah, and I thought you were going to let me," Tony shot back.

"I changed my mind," Natasha tossed her head back, sending her red curls flying and nearly losing the hat. "Get. Your fingers. In me."

"Well, alright," he conceded, bringing his hand back down to where she wanted it, sliding it between their bodies and then down farther until he could delicately pull the speedo aside only just enough to tease at her flesh with his bare fingertips. "If that's what you want."

"Tony," her voice held a note of warning, and she tried to thrust down to take them.

Slowly, carefully, he gave her what she wanted, pushing in to the first knuckle. He was very pleased with how wet she was, and almost sure that the smug look on his face was what got an almost vicious thrust of her hips in response.

"Finally." She used the movement to pin his hand against his stomach and push his fingers all the way in, grinding down against his palm once they were as deep as they could go.

Without pausing, Natasha grabbed hold of his free wrist and used her grip to hold him still while she fucked herself on his fingers. The visual and sensation sent a shudder through him, and he drew a hitching breath. "Jesus, Nat," he groaned and tried to help by curling his fingers forward just slightly.

Natasha hissed, triumphant. "Yes, there!"

A few strokes later, her muscles spasmed around him, and she curled forward almost until her forehead hit his chest with the force of her orgasm. 

He gave her a chance to come down a little before he pulled his fingers free. Before he could lick them clean, however, Natasha caught his hand and pulled it to her own mouth, and that was just--

Tony was pretty sure his brain shorted out.

Fuck.

When Natasha shifted, he reopened his eyes, not sure when he'd closed them, and was met with the sight of a sun-haloed set of blood red curls and a satisfied smile. The Stetson blocked the worst of the glare, thankfully. Before he could articulate a question, her hands were deftly stripping his borrowed swim trunks down to mid-thigh. "Ready for round two," she asked.

"I'm still on round one," he quipped back, but acquiesced.

"Good," Natasha tore open the condom and handed it to him. "Here."

Bemused, he did as she'd asked. "How do you want it?"

When her hand came down to run lightly over his cock and slick him up, Natasha caught and held his eyes. It was just enough of a distraction from the way he couldn't stop from pushing up into the touch, wanting a hell of a lot more. "Hard and long." A tug on his cock had him thrusting up and finding nothing but air. "This looks like it'll do nicely."

Tony's hands came up automatically to rest on her hips as she positioned herself and steadied him. The heat and tightness were maddening after holding back for so long, but Natasha had a solid grip on him with her knees and didn't let him move yet. His fingers dug into the muscle at her hips just slightly. "Gonna move," he forced out, trying to use inflection to make it a question but not sure he succeeded, hearing the hoarseness in his own voice.

Natasha gave him an arch look, then slowly used the leverage she had to lift herself up a bare inch and hold herself there. It made her muscles tighten around him deliciously, and resisting the impulse to thrust up into her was like trying to stop the tide with his bare hands.

After the first thrust, Natasha's hand landed on his chin and tilted his head until their eyes locked. That made everything more intense, and her murmured command mixed with the sound of the waves hitting the hull of the boat. "Come on," she said, "show me what you've got."

At this rate, it wouldn't take much to set him off, and Tony knew it. He slid one of his hands down from her hips and around the curve of her ass to toy with her sex where they were joined, using his fingertips to trace the edges of her folds and pinch lightly at them. It pulled a gasp out of Natasha that sounded almost wounded. His other hand slid up the front of her t-shirt to play with a nipple until it was peaked enough to see through the thin layer of cloth. In response he got a few swears and her muscles tightened around him again in a way that almost made him see stars.

He gave that nipple one last flick, and traded it for the other one, letting the chill of the wet t-shirt she wore keep it erect. When he leaned up to take it in his mouth through the shirt and catch it between his teeth, Natasha threw back her head and swore, coming hard.

Caught off guard, Tony couldn't hold back, and came with a last few jerky thrusts, every muscle tensing. When he came back down off the high, he sprawled lazily on the deck of the boat. Natasha did much the same, not bothering to disengage.

It took Tony a few minutes to find the motivation to pull out and dispose of the condom. Once he'd dealt with that, he lay back down and closed his eyes. He just needed a minute.

\------

When Natasha roused him, the first thing he registered was heat. All down his flank and left ass cheek. Looking down, he groaned in dismay. They'd both gotten sunburns despite everything. "For fuck's sake. Really?"

Natasha had fared little better. Her legs had been shaded by the side of the boat and her face thanks to the Stetson, but her thin t-shirt hadn't been quite enough protection. "My back is going to be a mess for a few days."

Tony let his head thump back to the deck of the boat as he pulled his board shorts back up. "God damn it."

"Still worth it," Natasha replied. "That was one wild ride, cowboy."

A few tumblers fell into place, and Tony squinted. "It was you that night, wasn't it."

"What night?" Natasha looked blank.

"Fucked if I can remember when it was, but there was a bar in Nassau and some stacked blonde that looked like you who called me that."

"Might have been." She looked him over from head to toe. "This was better."

\------

\------------------


End file.
